(Oct 14): Russian authorities said they'd detained a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage, with a court ruling that he be held in custody for two months, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on its website.

Moscow's Lefortovo court said the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper's Yuki Imai should be held until Dec. 12, the Interfax news service reported Tuesday.

The FSB said the reporter, who was accredited with Russia's Foreign Ministry, had collected and stored information related to Russia's defensive capabilities. It was then to be transferred to a Japanese intelligence agency and for use "against the security of the Russian Federation."

The journalist was picked up in the far eastern Sakhalin region a day before he was due to leave Russia, authorities said. Hokkaido Shimbun, one of Japan's major regional newspapers, is based in Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido, which lies close to Russia's Far East.

Japan's foreign minister said Tokyo was seeking details of the detention.

"We are seeking information to determine whether the facts are indeed as stated and are working to establish the circumstances. We have also requested humanitarian consideration and fair and impartial treatment," Toshimitsu Motegi said in parliament on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in in a statement that the incident would "become an additional factor clouding the atmosphere in Russia-Japan relations."

"We once again urge official Tokyo to reconsider and change its approach by abandoning hostile steps toward Russia," she said.

The arrest comes amid increasing tensions between two nations. Last week the Russian Prosecutor General's Office had requested that Dutch authorities extradite International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and eight other officials. The Japanese government called these actions "unfair and unacceptable."

Russia said on Oct. 5 that Japan's latest sanctions were further damaging already strained ties, after Tokyo imposed restrictions on 33 Russian entities, nine individuals and, for the first time, the shipping sector.

In August, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi issued a protest after Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to a territory disputed with Japan. Putin's visit to Iturup Island, known in Japan as Etorofu, came after Japan had repeatedly urged him not to go, Takaichi said.

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